When it rains, my mother and I like to sit in the car, neither of us wanting to brave the rain to get to the house. We always have our best ________ in her little blue Honda, ________ raindrops race down the windscreen and listening to the rain ________ the car roof. I don’t know why, but sitting in the car, we always talk more than ________.
There was one rainy day when my mom told me something that is going to ________ me forever. Earlier that day she and my dad had been ________ about something; I can’t remember what. So she said, “Don’t spend your life looking for Prince Charming. ________, find yourself a really good frog.” At the time, I found this thought really ________. Who wants to think that you’ll never find Prince Charming? Another thought that ________ my mind: if my mom says there’s no Prince Charming, then what’s my dad? A frog? I asked her, and she replied with, “________! If he were Prince Charming, he wouldn’t snore, would be able to cook, and we would never argue. But you know what? He’s a damn good frog.” Being young, I didn’t think of the meaning ________ what she was saying.
But a few years later, I understand the ________ of my mom’s words. You can’t expect everything to be ________. Let’s be completely honest; if you ________ your whole life for your prince with flowing hair, attractive ________, and a white horse, you’re going to be lonely. I think that the ________ of finding a good frog is that you ________ something that’s great, imperfect and all. In life, we can’t afford to wait years for perfection ________. So I think that the best frog you can find is what we’re really looking for in this world. Don’t laze through life waiting to live ________ ever after, because I don’t think you’ll be very happy with the ________.
This I believe.
1.A.debates B.conversations C.memories D.comments
2.A.noticing B.admiring C.watching D.scanning
3.A.strike B.surround C.knock D.attack
4.A.necessary B.accessible C.reasonable D.normal
5.A.count on B.reflect on C.stick with D.correspond with
6.A.arguing B.thinking C.worrying D.dreaming
7.A.However B.Anyway C.Therefore D.Instead
8.A.discouraging B.exhausting C.amazing D.inspiring
9.A.slipped B.crossed C.changed D.searched
10.A.Forget it B.Never mind C.Of course D.No trouble
11.A.about B.over C.within D.behind
12.A.value B.effect C.concern D.weight
13.A.realistic B.perfect C.mature D.reliable
14.A.wait B.advocate C.devote D.challenge
15.A.power B.alternative C.appearance D.belief
16.A.approach B.difficulty C.potential D.point
17.A.expect B.accept C.assume D.confirm
18.A.in time B.in return C.in vain D.in general
19.A.regretfully B.happily C.peacefully D.casually
20.A.reply B.relationship C.intention D.outcome
Studies show that people who are happy — truly happy— have deep connections with those around them. 1. They actively try hard to improve these relationships and build quality relationships with others.
Those connections and relationships that we build and that we attempt to develop, create experiences in our lives. Some experiences will be poor, but it is possible for us to create meaningful experiences — experiences that allow us to just be. Studies show that when we create meaningful experiences, we allow ourselves time to relax, to build connections, and to become our best selves 2.
If we want to create meaningful experiences, we need to learn how to create these moments in our lives. Instead of taking many classes and workshops to teach us how to build connections with others, we should experience beSHOPs, which means we learn by being, by observing, and by becoming.
3. It helps define us and motivates us to do good, to step outside of our comfort zone, and to be better. A few of these values that we need to create meaningful experiences include:
● Compassion (同情): Compassion has been thoroughly studied and proven to be a natural human response. 4. When you are compassionate, you don't have to think twice about helping others.
● Gratitude: Showing sincere appreciation to others helps establish strong feelings of gratitude, and build strong connections. You should express appreciation for all the things in your life and make gratefulness just a part of who you are.
● Willingness to learn: 5. Many individuals will find themselves stuck in their own world and never take a step outside of their comfort zones. When we have that desire to learn, to explore, and our curiosity is continually peaked, then we are more likely to have these meaningful experiences.
Remember, true happiness, and meaningful experiences are not things you can learn from a series of worksheets and lectures. It is about being.
A.There is so much in the world around us.
B.“To be” requires key values that shape us.
C.It means service, kindness and love for others.
D.Within the communities, you can work on developing these values.
E.Working with others will help you experience many aspects of life.
F.Creating these experiences is a vital step in the process to achieve full happiness.
G.They value their relationships with family, friends, colleagues and even strangers.
Stone tools and pieces of animal bone from about 16,600 years ago are the earliest evidence yet of human beings in the New World, scientists say.
The objects were found in the western United States. They were recovered from an archaeological site called Cooper Ferry on the Salmon River near the town of Cottonwood Idaho. Scientists used radiocarbon dating methods to find out how old these artifacts are.
The scientists say people lived in or passed through the area when ice covered large parts of North America. That period of time is known as Earth's Ice Age. During the period, big mammals like camels lived in North America. Loren D avis is an anthropology (人类学) professor at Oregon State University. He led the team of scientists working at Cooper's Ferry.
“The Cooper's Ferry site is the earliest radiocarbon-dated archaeological evidence in the Americas.” Davis said. The researchers said the artifacts suggest that people first lived in the area between 16,600 and 15,300 years ago and returned to live there many times after that.
Scientists say humans first appeared in Africa about 300,000 years ago and later spread throughout the world. There has been much scientific debate about when humans first entered the Americas. They are believed to have crossed into North America at a time when Siberia and Alaska were connected by land.
The new findings support the assumption that the first human migration into the Americas traveled down the pacific coast instead of an inland path. Davis said. “The Columbia river would provide the first Americans their first route to interior lands south of the continental ice sheet.”
The researchers noted details of some of the sharp objects that would have been used for hunting. These artifacts appear similar to those found in northern Japan from a somewhat earlier date. Davis said. “We assume that this may signal a cultural connection between early peoples who lived around the northern Pacific Rim.” “Traditional technological ideas spread from northeastern Asia into North America at the end of the last glacial period,” he added.
1.What do the “artifacts” in paragraph 4 refer to?
A.The migrants traveling into the North America.
B.The objects found in Cooper's Ferry on the Salmon River.
C.Stone tools and animal bones from about 300,000 years ago.
D.The camels living in north America during the earth's Ice Age.
2.It can be inferred from paragraphs 5-7 that ________.
A.migrants possibly traveled deep into North America through the Columbia
B.North America has long been considered the source of human civilization
C.there existed no cultural links between early peoples around the world
D.experts have agreed on when humans first entered the Americas
3.What is the best title for the text?
A.The Artifacts Recovered from an Archaeological Site in Africa
B.The Spreading of Ancient Technology between Early Settlers
C.The Benefits of Radiocarbon Dating Method
D.The First Human Migration into the Americas
When you don’t have a car and need to get around, are you more likely to call for an Uber or Lyft, or a cab? Last Friday, Lyft — the ride-sharing company, went public as its stocks (股票) started trading on the market. Lyft has become the first big initial public offering of the “gig economy” age. While the company is not making profits yet, it is changing the meaning of work. What is gig economy and what makes it so appealing?
Gig works are independent contracts (合同) or part-time jobs such as Uber. In the gig economy, companies hire independent contractors instead of full-time employees. This is different from traditional companies where full-time workers hold a lifetime career. In the past, only small companies hired contractors, while today, employers like Amazon and Google rely on temporary workforce. These companies save costs as they are not legally required to provide healthcare benefits, retirement savings or paid time off to gig workers.
Gig work appeals to different people for different reasons. For some, it affords flexible timings and for otliers who are looking for full-time jobs, it provides a source of income to support themselves. Some people work a full-time job and supplement (补充) their salary with gig jobs such as driving for Uber or Lyft.
Joining the gig economy may be simple, but maintaining a steady career is easier said than done. Gig work comes with unsteady pay and workloads. You're your own boss. It sounds fun, but when you have no self-control and an unsteady job, you might splurge all your money the first week and live on bread pieces for the rest of the month! Besides a strong sense of responsibility, gig workers have to stay up to date to get companies to hire them.
Despite the challenges gig workers face, nearly 60 million Americans are part of this workforce. As this number grows, we have to see how society and companies adapt to this new world of work!
1.What can be learnt about Lyft from the passage?
A.It has built up a large fortune.
B.It marks the arrival of gig economy age.
C.It employs a fixed number of full-time workers.
D.It appeals to people as a means of public transport.
2.Who are most likely to become gig workers?
A.People seeking for a steady income.
B.Those desperate to get paid vacations.
C.People in need of flexible working hours.
D.Those concerned about retirement accounts.
3.What does the underlined word “splurge” in paragraph 4 mean?
A.Spend money freely. B.Deposit money automatically.
C.Earn money quickly. D.Allocate money randomly.
4.What is the message mainly conveyed in the passage?
A.Gig workers have to face some potential challenges.
B.Gig workers have to possess some much-needed qualities.
C.The appearance of gig companies will solve the job problems.
D.People should adjust to new work trends with the rise of gig companies.
CARMEL VALLEY - You don’t necessarily have to be older to be a Good Samaritan. Take Carmel Valley resident, Daniella Marie Benitez, 14, who is not your average teen. Daniella is helping Tijuana families have roofs over their heads — one family at a time.
It began in 2017 while she was volunteering for Build A Miracle and building a home for a family in need in Tijuana, Mexico. Daniella found it so fulfilling that she took the lead in building another home with the support of her family and friends.
To date, she has raised $32,000 for her cause and recently headed to Tijuana to begin building her team’s second home.
“It has been an unbelievable experience,” Daniella, a freshman at Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego, said. She learned about Build A Miracle through her previous school, Notre Dame Academy. It is a nonprofit organization that takes a family in need from a shack (棚屋) to a new home with electricity, bedrooms, kitchen and a bathroom. It has built more than 350 homes since 1999.
During this most recent trip to Tijuana, Daniella and her team poured the foundation (基金) for the second new home. Additionally, she used her other volunteering position as a member of KIDBOX’s Kids board of directors to help distribute $10,000 worth of brand new KIDBOX clothing to her BAM community’s kids.
Between BAM and KIDBOX, the busy teen said she would continue to volunteer both locally and in Mexico to “stay humble.” She isn’t about to stop helping others; in fact, it’s something she treasures. “I’ve been working with BAM for about a year and a half. I got involved at the end of seventh grade when my previous school sponsored the building of a school sponsored home; my mom forced my family and me to go down to TJ to actually help build the house,” she said. “Meeting the family and seeing their delight and relief when they walked into their new home was priceless and is what inspired me to keep doing this.”
1.What made Daniella stand out among teens?
A.Her constant efforts to help those less fortunate.
B.The building of a school sponsored home.
C.Her attempt to raise a fund for her cause.
D.The organizing of Build A Miracle.
2.How did Daniella make connections between BAM and KIDBOX?
A.She encouraged KIDBOX to collect money for BAM.
B.She promoted a donation to BAM from KIDBOX.
C.She held leading positions in both organizations.
D.She built a platform for them to communicate.
3.What chiefly inspired Daniella to keep helping others?
A.The support from her parents. B.Carmel Valley’s traditional values.
C.Tijuana families’ happy reactions. D.The influence from her previous school.
阅读下面短文，根据所给的情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
When my family moved to the United States from Colombia, I was 9 years old and knew little about English. As time passed, teachers finally knew all of their students and and everyone began to adapt to the life, except for me. No one called out my name, and no one seemed to know I existed. I spent the next month in my new classroom quietly. I felt that fear, loneliness and sadness came over me.
The school never cared that I didn't speak English, but something else was teaching me English. Every morning when my aunt drove me to school and picked me up, she always had 106.7 Light FM(私家车广播)on. It was this station that introduced my young ears to the English sounds.
Because of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, I learned the difference between "witch" and "which". While watching the TV show South Park, I was attracted by the funny characters. In fact, thanks to pop culture, the world of English became available to me while it was being turned down at school.
I also learned how to express my emotions thanks to pop culture. One day at school, we were taking a math quiz and the whole class was quiet. Suddenly, the tip of my pencil broke and I yelled, "My Jesus! " Everyone held their breath in surprise and I laughed to myself because something at that moment told me I had just learned my first bad word in English.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1
I appeared to be embarrassed at that moment, but in my heart I felt happy.
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Paragraph 2
Four months passed before the school placed me into an ESL（把英语作为第二语言的语言学习者的专业英文课程）program.
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